Have an Etsy Store? Make Sure It Is Properly Protected
The online marketplace Etsy has gone from a niche craft seller to one of the largest commerce companies in the world. Etsy has millions of active sellers worldwide, most of ...
Was Your Loved One a Book Lover? Think Twice Before You Throw Them Out
An individual’s belongings—such as jewelry, furniture, photographs, and books—sometimes slip through the cracks of their estate plan. While certain books may be gifted to a beneficiary in a loved one’s ...
Three Things You Must Do to Protect Your Family if You Are Recently Unemployed
If you have recently lost your job, you are not alone! Due to inflation having skyrocketed in the United States over the past couple of years, some smaller businesses have ...
Are You Single with a Minor Child? If So, You Need a Plan
You have a minor child who depends on you for their survival, so you need to make sure that they will be cared for if you are ever unable to ...
Why Can’t We Have a Joint Trust If We Are Not Married?
Joint trusts are beneficial for many married couples, especially if they have a stable relationship, do not have many creditors, and live in Wisconsin where their estate is not subject ...
Planning a Barbecue Is Like Planning Your Estate
For many, Memorial Day weekend signals the beginning of summer and enjoying warm-weather activities, including backyard barbecues with friends and family. Although a cookout may be an informal affair, planning is crucial to its success. This is true for estate planning, too. Just as preparations are necessary for a successful cookout, a little planning goes a long way to prevent a poorly designed estate plan (or no estate plan at all!) from leaving you and your loved ones in a pickle.
National Home Remodeling Month: How Remodeling Your Home Could Impact Your Estate Plan
Spring is associated with renewal, and as the weather gets warmer, many homeowners turn their attention to renovation projects. Each May, the home remodeling industry and the National Association of ...
Why Deathbed Planning Might Give You Additional Grief
None of us likes to think about our own death or enjoys planning for that occasion. However, if you do not create an estate plan or fail to update it regularly, you are likely setting your loved ones up for even more stress and grief after you pass away. It may add to your own stress and impede your peace of mind during your lifetime because of the uncertainty that your wishes and goals will be fulfilled. If you have not updated your estate plan to include loved ones who are not provided for in your existing plan, you may be tempted to make deathbed gifts. It may bring you pleasure to make significant gifts to loved ones because of the joy it may bring to them. However, in addition to the obvious problem that no one knows the exact time they will die and may not be able to make the deathbed gifts they intend, there are some other drawbacks to deathbed planning that you may not have thought about.
Nonjudicial Settlement Agreements: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Some trusts are irrevocable as soon as they are created, which means that, in general, the Trustmaker (the person who created and funded the trust) cannot terminate or modify it and take back the money or property that it holds. You may wonder why anyone would want an irrevocable trust, but irrevocable trusts can provide some very important benefits, particularly asset protection, tax minimization, and maintaining eligibility for government benefits. In contrast, Trustmakers may amend or revoke a revocable living trust at any time prior to their death, but at the death of one or both Trustmakers the trust becomes irrevocable.
Ways Your Will Can Be Revoked
A will is a foundational estate planning document. However, according to Gallup, only 46 percent of US adults have a will. This number has remained consistent in Gallup polls dating back to 1990. If you are among the minority of Americans with this crucial estate planning document, then you probably recognize the risks of not having a will. Simply creating a will does not mean that your estate plan is complete or final. It is best practice to regularly have your will reviewed every five to seven years. In some cases, it may even need to be revoked and redrafted entirely. Usually, revoking a will is a purposeful act on the part of the will maker.